Harry Potter and the Family Secret
by nikkers2187
Summary: Harry Potter is about to learn about a mysterious destiny that brings him face to face with his long lost cousin.  Now he is learning about his family's secrets while struggling to defeat Voldemort.  Takes place during Books 6 and 7.  Please R
1. Prophacy Revisited

Chapter 1

"_The ones with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approach ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark one as his equal, but combined, they will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either family must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... "_

Albus Dumbledore stared into his pensive, remembering when he first heard that prophecy. He was always grateful that Trelawney had always been a soft spoken witch or Snape might have given the Dark Lord an accurate recounting of the true prophecy. He had been careful to change the wording, to keep the secret for as long as possible. It was bad enough that Voldemort knew that one child had been born. Knowing that two children existed would have put a lot more peoples' lives in danger.

It had already been a chaotic situation. Lily and James were dead, murdered by Voldemort on All Hollows' Eve under over two years ago. Their infant son Harry was now safely protected by his mother's blood which lived in her sister and nephew. Sirius was imprisoned, although Dumbledore still wasn't entirely sure that he had been the real culprit. Peter was also gone, killed by Sirius. He got up from his chair, looking out his window at the grounds below. Minerva was in the courtyard, playing with her three-year-old granddaughter Marissa. Class was scheduled to being in just a few days, which would necessitate that the toddler be hidden away from the prying eyes of Hogwarts.

Behind him, he hears the door open and his new Potions Master walks in, looking decidedly unhappy, which was normal for Snape. "Do you enjoy tormenting me, Headmaster?"

"She will be gone before evening," Dumbledore said, sitting back down at his desk and looking at his former student. Snape had always been sort of a problem, since he had started butting heads with James Potter and his friends. For twelve years Dumbledore had played referee to a degree, letting the boys work out their differences, interfering only when he had to. It had all come to a head when James started to date Lily Evans, the girl Snape had fancied for years. In his anger, Snape had ruined all chances of a relationship with Lily when he called her a Mudblood. That comment sent her straight into the arms of his rival. Years later, when James and Lily were married, Snape's vindictiveness would rear its ugly head and it would be the Potters who would pay the price. Snape had finally realized the errors of his ways when he heard the prophecy and realized it referred to the unborn child that the love of his life carried in her womb and to yet another child also still in its mother's womb.

After the birth of both children, Snape had sought him out, confessing what he had done. Dumbledore had turned him into a spy, gaining information about the coming attack, praying that the defenses put up around the two children would hold. Snape had been devastated when he learned that Lily Potter had been murdered by Voldemort, to the point that he had to be sent to St. Mungo's. By the time he had recovered, the children had been placed in magical protection more powerful that Voldemort could ever anticipate.

"You enjoy parading her around in front of me, after telling me I was never allowed to go near her again." Snape growled, walking to the window. He stared out the window at his fellow professor, who was playing with the little dark haired girl.

"You do not have any rights to her. Voldemort knows nothing of her existence. Only three people in the world know that a second child was born. To a mother who had thrice defied him, who was born as July died? I will not allow for Elizabeth's sacrifice be in vain." Dumbledore said to him, picking up a treat for Fawkes and giving it to the phoenix.

"What about my sacrifice? She is my daughter!" Snape explodes, whirling around to face him.

"Rights to a daughter you gave up when you told Voldemort about the prophecy. You cared nothing for her mother. You only wanted to hurt James for taking Lily away from you. As Minerva's granddaughter, she can grow up safe and protected from Voldemort."

Snape looked back out the window then looked back at Dumbledore. "He will sense them if they are together?"

"This is why Marissa will not attend Hogwarts when she comes of age. Minerva and I have located a school that will be a safe enough distance from Hogwarts to allow her to remain safe and if we are very lucky, she will not draw attention to herself until after we are sure that Voldemort is defeated." Dumbledore explained. The Siren's Academy on Cyprus was a private witch's school located far from Voldemort's hunting grounds, should he return. He had considered sending her to Beauxbatons, but his friendship with Madam Maxine was too well known. "As long as Voldemort doesn't know about her, she is safe."

"How long do you honestly think that you can keep the true contents of that prophecy secret?" Snape countered, turning back to face Dumbledore.

"For as long as possible. Voldemort is weak at the moment. When he attacked the Potters, he lost a great deal of his power. Lily's sacrifice, along with Elizabeth's, protected the little boy. It is proof that Voldemort is not all powerful. He can be defeated."

"By two young witches who were calling on an obscure ancient magic and relying on a great deal of luck to save themselves and one little boy. Do you honestly think the most powerful Dark Wizard in history will be stopped by one little boy?"

"The future is always in motion. A wise Wizard once said that." Dumbledore said, smiling at his own joke. Lucas was a true wizard of the screen and his morality tale of good verses evil did teach valuable lessons. He can tell by Snape's dumbfounded look that he didn't get the reference, but it didn't matter. "Right now our job is to protect the children, keep them out of Voldemort's line of sight and do the best we can to defeat him when he does arise again. Now, is there any other business that brings you here, Professor?"

Snape bristles at that obvious dismissal of the conversation. "A new potential student's name just appeared in the book. Transfer from Beauxbatons, Hermione Granger."

"Her file?" Dumbledore holds out his hand. Snape hands him the file, which he opens to find a picture taken of a very young brown haired girl, not quite four-years-old, playing on a swing set in some park. The picture was obviously taken by a wizard or witch who was trying to make it not appear that they were taking the girl's picture. Standard operating procedure when the magical child in question was the offspring of Muggles. "Highly intelligent, preliminary tests indicate she will be a very powerful young witch when she begins to develop her powers. I foresee a very bright future for this one."

"Shall I give the Deputy Headmistress her file then?"

"No…I will handle it. Thank you." Dumbledore says, continuing to look at the file. He waits until Snape leaves his office before he pulls out a number other files, all with students' names on them. He may not be a Seer like Trelawney, but he did have a good sense of those who would be influential to the Wizarding world. He had done it before, with other young witches and wizards. His Order of the Phoenix's members had included a collection of students he had seen great potential in before and after they attended Hogwarts and for the most part, he had been right. Hagrid, Minerva, Lupin, Pettigrew, the Longbottoms, and the Potters had all served the Order well. He placed the file on top of the others, which included a Potter, an Auror's son, an editor's daughter, and a school governor's son and now included a dentist's daughter, along with quite a few others. His choices might be considered controversial by those who believed in the Pure Blood mania, but he knew talent when he saw it and the group he was beginning to acquire had talent.


	2. 13 Years Later

Chapter 2

_13 years later…_

Dumbledore stood in a quiet room of the bustling Burrow, staring at the glass of the mirror he had enchanted to show him whatever he desired. Today it shifted between two youths, a black haired boy with green eyes and a lightening shaped scar above his eye and a black haired girl with familiar blue eyes. Today both youths turned sixteen, and thankfully, both were still alive, although in the boy's case, there had been a few close calls.

Harry Potter was proving to be more than a match for the darkest evil of their time. From the moment he had entered Hogwarts, Harry had battled for his life, showing great loyalty to Dumbledore and to the school. The boy had endured more pain that anyone would have wanted him to bear. Dumbledore was still chafing under the lecture he had gotten from McGonagall early in the summer about the boy and he couldn't blame her for her concerns. If Harry had not been strong enough, if he had been unable to love, they would have lost him to Voldemort just a few weeks ago. She had every right, he knew, to insist that the boy was protected. Had things worked out differently, she would have gained custody of the boy back when he was an infant, if Dumbledore hadn't insisted that they rely on the protection Lily Potter had placed around her son.

Protection, that now seemed to have failed. Voldemort could now touch Harry, which had changed everything. Although he suspected that the drop of blood Voldemort took from Harry the previous summer would play a vital part in the boy's survival, he couldn't be sure. He had managed to silence Minerva's fears for the moment, telling her he was going to take a much more active role in Harry's education and future. His previous attempts to distance himself from the boy had proven dangerous and something he could not allow to continue. Harry had become too precious to him.

The reflection in the mirror shifted again, this time to the girl. She had developed into a young beauty with long black hair and piercing blue eyes. She had a pale appearance, like her father before her, but her eyes came from her mother's family. As Harry was identified as Lily's son by their shared eye color, so would Marissa be identified to her mother's family, more specifically…to her great grandfather, through theirs. She was powerful too, if the reports the Siren's academy were sending to him were accurate, nearly as powerful as Harry. It was no surprise, given who their ancestors were. The fact that she had reached her sixteenth birthday with Voldemort none the wiser that she existed was remarkable. The door behind Dumbledore opened and he slowly turned to see who had entered.

"Who is she," asked the fifteen-year-old girl with flame red hair. Ginny Weasley had entered to get her brother's bedroom ready to have an extra occupant. She was so different from the scared first year he had encountered before he realized her potential. The Weasley family, thanks in part to their devotion and desire to protect Harry, had become members of the Order. When Dumbledore had first really encountered a Weasley was as Harry's first year at Hogwarts was ending, when he, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley had upset Voldemort's plans to get the Stone. He had never considered the Weasley's to be a real force up until then, only to be pleasantly surprised. Harry's friendship with Ron and his siblings had proven vital to having more places for him to be protected. Arthur and Molly had both confided in Dumbledore that they would willingly take in Harry to keep him from his Muggle relatives, to raise him as another son. He was touched by their obvious love for the Chosen One, but as with Minerva, he had declined, still believing that the protection Harry's mother left behind would protect him during the summer.

Ginny Weasley too had become a surprise to him. In her first year, she had been a victim of Voldemort's dairy, which nearly cost her life, but she had bounced back in recent years, becoming one of the powerful Weasley children. Her actions in the Battle at the Department of Mysterious had made him stop and look at her very differently. He had anticipated Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom joining Harry there, along with Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, but Ginny's addition was a bit more surprising. He got to see first hand the extent of power contained in the youngest Weasley. He could only hope that Harry would wake up in time to see just how unique she truly was. "She is a friend's granddaughter. Is there something I can help you with, Miss Weasley?"

"Mum wants me to get Ron's room ready for Harry tonight, if it's still the plan to have him stay here, of course."

"Of course, I will leave you to your chores, Miss Weasley." Dumbledore said, moving past her to exit the bedroom. He stopped as felt something in his pocket vibrating. He glances at his pocket watch, frowning, and then went downstairs, walked outside the Burrow to a place where he could apparate and vanished.

After dropping off Harry at the Burrow, Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts and his study, grateful that his plan had worked. Slughorn would be safely back at Hogwarts, where Harry could use his linage to get what they needed. A voice in the darkness startled him, causing him to go for his wand before recognizing the voice.

"The Siren's Academy has been compromised, Albus." McGonagall's voice said in a tired tone.

"How...when?" He asked, easing into his chair and looking at her. His first thoughts going to the child that would be hidden there in just a few weeks, safely anonymous, or at least he hoped so. If her identity was compromised in the slightest, it would destroy his plans for her future.

"This morning, I received an owl from the Headmistress saying they were compromised. That Death Eaters had invaded the school, they destroyed everything." Minerva said as she sat down opposite him.

"She'll have to attend Hogwarts where we can protect her. Extend invitations to those we knew were attending there for them to come to Hogwarts."

"What about Snape?" Minerva asked.

"He'll have to continue to play along. Harry and Marissa know nothing about their combined destiny. I don't intend to burden Marissa until we have no other choice."

"The prophecy referred to their powers combined. Wouldn't it make more sense to tell them the truth? To reveal who they really are to each other?"

"No. From why my spy has told me, Voldemort has already gotten to someone inside Hogwart's walls. It's going to be dangerous enough to have them both attending here. To add the knowledge of their shared linage and destiny would alert Voldemort to the truth."

"Then what do we do? We can't hide this from them forever."

"Sort Marissa into Slytherin. At least there she can be protected by Snape and the pure blood mania. Harry's prejudice toward Slytherins will keep him from wanting to be friendly with her, which should protect her for the time being.

"Anything else?" Minerva said, standing up and preparing to leave his office.

"Yes, actually. Assign extra time with Mr. Longbottom and Miss Weasley. Tell Flitwick to do the same with Miss Lovegood. I have a strong feeling that they are going to be instrumental in the war that is coming and I want them prepared. Try to keep it from the other three if you can." Dumbledore said, watching as Minerva left. This development was unsettling. If Voldemort had attacked just a few weeks from now, there was a very good chance that the Sirens would be under his control. Luck was with them, for now.


	3. The Train Ride

The Train Ride

Harry Potter was sitting in his train compartment, talking with Luna and Neville, while Ron and Hermione had gone off to do their Prefect duties, when the compartment door slid open and a young girl popped her head inside. "Excuse me, may I sit in here? Everywhere else is full." The girl had dark black hair and crystal blue eyes. The way she said her first two sentences reminded Harry of another time and place, when he had first met Ron. He glanced at Neville and Luna, getting nods of approval, scooted closer to the window to let the girl have a seat.

"Thanks. My name is Marissa McGonagall." The girl says, immediately the three look at each other.

"Are you any relation to Professor McGonagall?" Neville asked the obvious question.

"Yes. She is my grandmother on my mother's side."

"Why had we not seen you before? I mean as the granddaughter of our Deputy Headmistress, one would think you would attend Hogwarts?" Luna asked as she gave the girl a warm smile.

"I was told I had rare abilities that would require special training that I couldn't get at Hogwarts. I was sent to a specialized academy to get the training I needed. But when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named attacked my school, my Grandma transferred me here where she could protect me."

"What sort of rare abilities?" Harry asked next, there was something about this girl, something he couldn't explain.

"I have abilities as a Siren. I don't need wands to focus my magic. I can use just my voice."

Luna looked surprised. "That is incredibly rare magic. We are taught wordless magic during 6th and 7th years, but to not use our wands would be incredibly difficult."

"I have never even heard of it." Harry admits.

"Sirens are typically born in pairs. Typically boys and girls, but the girls are usually the only ones who inherit the siren trait to use wand less magic. The boys usually inherit the abilities to use wordless magic more efficiently. Siren males are also immune to another rare form of magic called the Siren's call."

"If I remember my Grams story right, the Siren's song or call can lure men to their deaths. Women are immune." Neville explained.

"Exactly, Sirens were typically witches who lived on the islands of the world, luring wizards to their islands so they can reproduce and have daughters, and then using their song to kill them. As Wizards learned of their existence, fewer and fewer sirens were born. By the time You-Know-Who began to gather followers, he killed all the Sirens he could find. Theirs was one magic he couldn't defend against."

"So where did you get your powers from?" Harry asked, looking at her with interest. If she was right, she was one of the few beings other than himself that Voldemort would fear."

"It was somewhere on my maternal grandfather's side of the family. Other than that I don't know. Grandma wasn't sure herself where the magic came from, only that I had it from when I was very little. She never had the abilities herself so she knew it wasn't from her family. Apparently she used to bring me to Hogwarts during her breaks since she lives here year round. I was able to put a few of the caretakers under my spell as a little girl. She and Dumbledore decided I would be much better off learning how to control my power, so they sent me to the Siren's Academy in Cyprus when I was five. I have been there ever since."

Just then, Hermione and Ron returned from doing their prefect duties. Harry hastily introduces them to Marissa. "Wish the lunch trolley would hurry up, I'm starving," Ron said, slumping into the seat between Harry and Marissa. He turned to Harry and said, "Malfoy's not doing prefect duty. He's just sitting in his compartment with the other Slytherins, we just saw him when we passed."

"Who's Malfoy?" Marissa asked, turning toward Ron.

"He's a Slytherin grit who likes to torment us," Ron told her. As Ron proceeded to tell Marissa all about Malfoy, Harry was lost in his own thoughts. It wasn't like Malfoy to pass up on the chance to abuse his power as a prefect.

"What did he do when he saw you?"

"The usual," Ron said indifferently, "Not like him is it? He is usually out there bullying the first years by this point. Wonder why he's not?"

"Maybe he has something else on his mind." Marissa said, watching Harry. It was just then that a young 3rd year girl popped her head in and said that she had two invitations for Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter. She handed them two scrolls and left. When Neville and Harry opened them, they were invitations to come see Professor Slughorn in his private compartment.

"Guess we had better go Neville." Harry said, standing up and saying his goodbyes to the others. His eyes fall on Marissa. Why had he accepted her so quickly into his circle of friends? Before he could really think about it more, Neville was pushing past him to leave their compartment.

After spending most of the train ride with Slughorn, Harry was grateful to get away from him. He and Neville had separated at the Slug Club and Harry had hidden under his invisibility cloak, following Zabini back to the Slytherin compartment. After finding a place to hide himself, he settled in to listen.

"So Zabini, what did Slughorn want?" Malfoy asked in his usual drawling voice.

"He's just trying to make up to well-connected people. Not that he managed to find many.

"Who else did he invite?"

"Belby from Ravenclaw and Longbottom, Potter and that Weasley girl," Zabini reported

"He invited Longbottom?" Malfoy said, sitting straight up."

"I would assume so, since Longbottom was there."

"Potter I can understand. Precious Potter…the Chosen One," sneered Malfoy, setting Harry's teeth on edge. "But that Weasley girl, filthy blood traitor, what is so special about her?"

"A lot of boys like her," Pansy said, watching Malfoy out of the corner of her eyes for his reaction.

"I would never touch her." Zabini said.

"Well I pity Slughorn's taste if he invites scum like Longbottom, Potter and the Weasley. But he's probably Dumbledore's man. After all, he's a teacher. I mean, why try to impress him when I might not be at Hogwarts next year." Malfoy gloated as Pansy stroked his hair.

"What do you mean you won't be back here next year?" She asked, startled.

"You never know. I might be off to bigger and better things by next year."

"Do you mean…Him?"

Malfoy shrugged, not saying much more other than to boost his own ego. Harry continued to listen as they talked, struggling hard to keep as quiet as he could when a voice surprised him, but his thoughts were clearly elsewhere. Malfoy sounded like he was already in Voldemort's service.

"Sorry, wrong compartment." Marissa's voice reached up to him.

"Whoa! Who are you?" Malfoy asked, jumping up and crossing the compartment to stand in front of her. It didn't take a genius to realize why Malfoy was suddenly so attentive to her. Marissa was a stunning beauty. Crabbe, Goyle and Zabini were all standing as well as she entered, leaving Pansy confused and jealous.

"Marissa, you?"

"Draco Malfoy," he said, bowing a bit toward her.

"Malfoy…interesting." Marissa said, looking at him. "Son of the Death Eater, Lucias Malfoy?" Malfoy didn't know how to respond to her statement, weather to acknowledge it or simply deny it. Marissa turned to leave, clearly not impressed by the Slytherin gang when Draco reached out to stop her. A loud high pitched noise resonated throughout the compartment, forcing the males to cover their ears, with the exception of Harry, who was confused. Why was he not affected by her Siren's call?

"Whoa, what was that? Malfoy asked after Marissa had left.

"No idea, you guys just seemed to freeze. What made that noise?" Pansy answered, staring at them all confused. The group continued to talk about the strange event until the next thing Harry knew, the train was coming into Hogsmeade station, with the Slytherins getting their things down from the luggage rack. Goyle's trunk hit Harry hard in the head, causing him to let out a gasp.

"Go on, I want to check something," Malfoy said, motioning the others out of the compartment. After they left, Harry held his breath. What was Malfoy up to? Malfoy closed the compartment door and pulled down the blinds. "_Perificus Totalus_!"

Without warning, Malfoy pointed his wand at where Harry was hiding. Harry was instantly paralyzed. He fell to the floor at Malfoy's feet, the invisibility cloak trapped beneath him.

"I thought so, "Malfoy said, pulling the cloak the rest of the way off Harry so he could see his face. "I heard Goyle's trunk hit you. You didn't hear anything I care about, Potter, but while I have you here…" and then he stomped hard on Harry's face. Harry could feel his nose break and his blood starting to flow. "That's from my father. Now, let's see…"

Malfoy dragged the cloak out from under him and threw it over him, hiding Harry from sight. "I don't think they will find out until the train's back in London. See you around Potter…or not." With that, he tread on Harry's fingers, Malfoy left the compartment with Harry helpless to stop him.


End file.
